Beginning
The One True God
115 ·It does not belong [L Not to us, not] to us, Lord.
The glory belongs to ·you [L your name]
because of your ·love [loyalty] and ·loyalty [faithfulness].
2 Why do the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven.
He does what he pleases.
4 Their idols are made of silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
They have eyes, but they cannot see.
6 They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They have noses, but they cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but they cannot feel.
They have feet, but they cannot walk.
No sounds come from their throats.
8 People who make ·idols [L them] ·will be [or are] like them,
and so will those who ·trust [have confidence in] them [135:15–18; Is. 44:9–20; 46:6–7; Jer. 10:1–9; Hab. 2:18–19].
9 ·Family of [L O] Israel, ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
10 ·Family [L House] of Aaron [C the priests], ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
11 You who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7] should ·trust [have confidence in] him;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us.
He will bless the ·family [L house] of Israel;
he will bless the ·family [L house] of Aaron [C the priests].
13 The Lord will bless those who ·respect [fear] him [Prov. 1:7],
from the ·smallest [or least] to the greatest.
14 May the Lord ·give you success [make you increase],
and may he give you and your children ·success [increase].
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth [Gen. 1].
16 Heaven belongs to the Lord,
but he gave the earth to people.
17 Dead people do not praise the Lord;
those ·in the grave are silent [L who go down in silence].
18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forever.
Praise the Lord!
Thanksgiving for Escaping Death
116 I love the Lord,
because he ·listens to my prayers for help [L hears/or heard my voice, my prayer of supplication].
2 He ·paid attention [L extends his ear] to me,
so I will ·call to him for help [call; pray] ·as long as I live [L in my days].
3 The ·ropes [cords] of death ·bound [encompass] me,
and the ·fear [hardship; distress] of ·the grave [L Sheol; C the grave or the underworld] ·took hold of [reached; found] me.
I ·was troubled and sad [L found distress and sadness].
4 Then I ·called out [prayed in] the name of the Lord.
I said, “Please, Lord, ·save [rescue] me!”
5 The Lord is ·kind [gracious] and ·does what is right [righteous];
our God is ·merciful [compassionate; Ex. 34:6–7].
6 The Lord ·watches over [keeps; guards] the ·foolish [immature; simpleminded];
when I was ·helpless [brought low], he ·saved me [gave me victory].
7 I said to myself, “·Relax [L Return, my soul/life to your rest],
because the Lord ·takes care of you [treats you well].”
8 Lord, you ·saved [rescued] me from death.
·You stopped my eyes from crying [L …and my eyes from tears];
·you kept me from being defeated [L …my feet from stumbling].
9 So I will walk ·with [before; in the presence of] the Lord
in the land of the living [C as opposed to the grave].
10 I ·believed [trusted], so I said,
“I am ·completely ruined [afflicted greatly; 2 Cor. 4:13].”
11 In my ·distress [worry] I said,
“All people are liars [Rom. 3:4].”
12 What can I ·give [L return to] the Lord
for all the ·good things [benefits] he has given to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation,
and I will pray ·to [L in the name of] the Lord.
14 I will ·give the Lord what I promised [pay my vow to the Lord]
in front of all his people.
15 The death of ·one that belongs to the Lord [his loyal ones/saints]
is precious in his ·sight [L eyes].
16 Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant and the son of your female servant.
You have ·freed me from [loosened] my chains.
17 I will give you ·an offering to show thanks to you [a thanksgiving offering],
and I will pray ·to [L in the name of] the Lord.
18 I will ·give the Lord what I promised [pay my vow to the Lord]
in front of all his people,
19 in the ·Temple courtyards [L courtyards of the house of the Lord]
in your midst, Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
A Hymn of Praise
117 All you nations, praise the Lord.
All you people, ·praise [extol] him
2 because ·the Lord loves us very much [L great is his loyalty/love toward us],
and his ·truth [faithfulness] is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
Thanksgiving for Victory
118 ·Thank [Praise] the Lord because he is good.
His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.
2 Let Israel say,
“His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.”
3 Let the ·family [L house] of Aaron [C the priests] say,
“His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.”
4 Let those who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7] say,
“His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.”
5 I was in ·trouble [distress], so I ·called [prayed] to the Lord.
The Lord answered me and set me ·free [L in a broad place].
6 I will not ·be afraid [fear], because the Lord is with me [Rom. 8:31].
·People can’t do anything [L What can people do…?] to me [Heb. 13:6].
7 The Lord is with me to help me,
so I will ·see my enemies defeated [L look on my enemy; C in triumph].
8 It is better to ·trust [find refuge in] the Lord
than to ·trust [have confidence in] people.
9 It is better to ·trust [find refuge in] the Lord
than to ·trust [have confidence in] princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me,
but I ·defeated them [warded them off] in the name of the Lord.
11 They surrounded me; they surrounded me on every side,
but ·with the Lord’s power [L in the name of the Lord] I ·defeated them [warded them off].
12 They surrounded me like a swarm of bees,
but they ·died [L were extinguished] as quickly as thorns burn.
·By the Lord’s power [L In the name of the Lord], I ·defeated them [warded them off].
13 They [or You] ·chased me [pushed me hard] until I ·was almost defeated [almost fell],
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord ·gives me strength and a song [L is my strength and song/or might].
He has ·saved me [given me victory].
15 Shouts of joy and victory
come from the tents of ·those who do right [the righteous]:
“The right hand of the Lord has done powerful things.”
16 The ·power [L right hand] of the Lord ·has won the victory [is exalted];
with his ·power [L right hand] the Lord has done powerful things.
17 I will not die, but live,
and I will ·tell [recount] what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has ·taught me a hard lesson [L surely disciplined/instructed me],
but he did not ·let me die [L give me over to death].
19 Open for me the ·Temple gates [L gates of righteousness].
Then I will come in and ·thank [praise] the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate;
only ·those who are good [the righteous] may enter through it [15; 24:3–6].
21 Lord, I ·thank [praise] you for answering me.
You have ·saved me [given me victory].
22 The stone that the builders rejected
became the chief cornerstone [Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:7].
23 ·The Lord did this [L This is from the Lord],
and it is wonderful ·to us [L in our eyes; Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10–11].
24 This is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad ·today [L in it]!
25 Please, Lord, ·save us [give us victory];
please, Lord, give us ·success [prosperity].
26 ·God bless [Blessed be] the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless all of you from the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord [Mark 11:9; Luke 13:35; 19:38].
27 The Lord is God,
and he has ·shown kindness to [illuminated; given light to] us.
·With branches in your hands, join the feast [L Bind the feast/procession with branches].
Come to the ·corners [L horns; Ex. 27:2] of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will ·thank [praise] you;
you are my God, and I will ·praise your greatness [L exalt you].
29 ·Thank [Praise] the Lord because he is good.
His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.